As If the Times Were Changing For Us
by trapped-in-daydreams
Summary: Years later down the road, Edd works as an elementary school teacher in Lemon Brook. Turns out, one of his students just so happens to be Kevin's son, Jake. What happens when this twist of fate brings the two to cross paths? Complications and emotions ensue. Disclaimer: I don't own EEnE! Just wanna put that out there now.
1. Chapter 1

The rising sun in the atmosphere gave proof to a new day in the city of Lemon Brook, as Eddward made his way down the hallways of Lemon Brook Elementary School. His black shoes clacked against the newly waxed floors as he took each step.

He wore a grin on his face as he traveled to the second grade hallway, and found his room three doors to the right. He took out a small, silver key from his pocket and began to unlock the door. As the key clicked and unlocked the door, he glanced over beside the door to the sign that read "Vincent," and took the time to admire the sight before stepping inside the dim lit room.

Edd flicked on the light and gazed upon the sight. His classroom was spectacular, in his opinion. The floors were shiny and waxed. The whiteboard and new and white, and the desks were sanitized, to Edd's request. Only the best for his first day.

He walked over to the large, brown, wooden desk at the front of the class and sat down his briefcase and coffee. He turned to face the board and picked up a marker to write "Mr. Vincent" on the board. In the process of making things ready for the day, Edd got lost in his own thoughts.

Edd knew since the end of high school that he wanted a career that would not only benefit him, but the lives of others. He knew that his passion for knowledge would take him far. He had decided to go into teaching, granted that it would be a positive experience and that he would proud knowing that he bestowed knowledge upon the youth.

Years prior to this point, Edd had worked as a substitute teacher at nearby schools. He would come in and take over the missing teacher's lesson plans, although he found it rather difficult at times. The high school students would never listen to him. Some students would just listen to music, others would get into groups to talk, and even sometimes girls would just sit around and paint their nails. To them, having a sub was like having a vacation. Edd supposed it was better than junior high, though. Especially after one incident, where a knife was pulled and cops had to be involved. Nope. Never again. The most enjoyment Edd found was substituting at the elementary school. The kids would listen to him, and were usually interested in what he had to teach. He found the students joyous attitudes to be delightful.

When Edd heard of the second grade teaching position at Lemon Brook, he quickly took advantage. He had went out of his way to make sure he got the job. He had the qualifications, and they found him to be the perfect replacement for old Mrs. Rivers, who had finally retired at 72 years old. He was beaming with glee when he was told that he had the job.

Seeing as his parents sold the house in Peach Creek once Edd went away to college, Edd decided to start a new in Lemon Brook with his new career.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Edd glanced up at the clock, which was conveniently place above the whiteboard. The time read, '7:23,' seven minutes until school was in session. Edd walked over to open the door and noticed that some of his students were already waiting outside.

"Greetings, students!" he smiled, exposing the gap in-between his two front teeth that even his braces from a few years ago couldn't have fixed. "I'm very pleased to see that you're all eager to learn. Please, step in the room and find your seats in which I have labeled with your names." Edd still had the habit of labeling things.

It wasn't until 7:28 at which Kevin finally turned into the parking lot of Lemon Brook Elementary. He put the car into park, and turned to look at his son. He gave a small sigh before saying, " Jake, I want you to behave this year, got it? No more of this interrupting shit, okay?" he asked of the small boy.

"Yeah, yeah, dad. I got it. If the teacher's a dweeb though, don't expect me to make it easy on 'em!" Jake answered back.

Jake was literally the spitting image of Kevin. His hair was red, and his eyes were the same shade of bright green. He donned freckles on his cheeks and even had the same trademark smirk. He even had the same red cap that Kevin had wore in his childhood days. He had given it to Jake when he had turned five.

Jake unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed the strap of his Spiderman backpack as he opened the door and slid out of the seat. Kevin gave a small laugh at Jake's attitude and watched as the seven year old stepped out of the car. "Just make it through today, okay bud? If you do, I'll see about us going to get some ice cream later, deal?"

"Deal!" Jake answered with a grin on his face. "Bye dad! See you later!" he said as he heard the bell ring from the building and began hurrying towards the entrance.

"Bye, Jacob!" Kevin managed to yell back before the door slammed.

Just as the tardy bell rang at precisely 7:30, Edd stood at the front of the class and began introducing himself.

"Good morning, class!" Edd beamed. "I am your teacher, Mr. Vincent, and this year you will be learning some exciting new things!" Edd said, over eagerness showing through his tone.

"To start off the day, I am going to call the roll. Please raise your hand as I call your name."

Edd started going down the list of student names and stopped when he noticed one hand not being raised.

"Jacob Barr?" he asked as his eyes scanned the room for the young students hand. "Is there a Jacob Barr here?"

As if on queue, the classroom door opened to reveal the redheaded boy as he made his way into the room.

"Well hello. And you are?" Edd asked in an almost sarcastic tone. His eyes scanning over the boy.

"Uh… My name's Jacob Barr. You can call me Jake, though." Jake answered as he found his way to the empty desk with his name labeled on it.

"Jake…" Edd fought any bitterness in his tone. This was just a second grade class after all, and he wasn't even quite that upset with the boy. "Are you aware that you're late?"

"Yeah. I heard the bell when I got out of the car. Ran as fast as I could." Jake said, hoping he wasn't in too much trouble.

"Well, seeing as it the first day, I'm going to let it slide. However, please make sure you're on time. Alright, Jake?" Edd asked, showing his gap in his teeth.

"Gotcha, Mr. Vincent."

"So, how was your first day?" Kevin asked Jake sitting across the table from him at the ice cream place.

"It was alright. I was late, but it wasn't my fault. Was it, dad?" Jake smirked.

"No Jake, it wasn't. I'll make sure to have you on time tomorrow. I don't want the school getting on my case for you not getting there on time." Kevin said as he took a bite of his rocky road ice cream. "So, was your teacher a dweeb?" he joked, remembering the conversation from earlier.

"Oh, the dweebiest! He was kinda cool, though. He let me slide with being late." Jake said with a full mouth.

"That's cool of him." Kevin replied, reaching over the table to take a bit of Jake's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

"Dad! That's mine!" Jake whined.

"Sharing is caring, little man." Kevin smiled at his son.


	2. Chapter 2

By the end of his first week, Edd found teaching to be both joyous and challenging. He was thankful for the class he was given. Although, not every class was perfect.

He has his star pupils. His brightest and best, the ones who chose to sit near the front. This included Kirsten, a bright eyed brunette who adored science. She sat in the front row, dead center in class and would raise her hand to nearly every one of Mr. Vincent's questions. She reminded Edd much of himself when he was younger.

However, in a class of 23 students, there are bound to be some little deviants.

And there were deviants alright. They weren't absolutely horrendous, but considering this was only the first week only made Edd incredibly nervous for the year ahead. It seemed the ruckus was caused by one particular trio.

These boys each had their own particular brand of mischief. The self-proclaimed leader of the group was Robert, a slightly chubby brunet boy. He seemed to have a habit of throwing papers wads across the room. This only occurred a few times a day, however. Edd prompted the young boy to stop, but his requests were ignored. After some observation, it seemed that Robert had one particular target, a small blonde haired girl by the name of Blair.

'Silly, young grade school crushes' Edd mused.

The next trouble maker was Blake, a boy who had just moved to Lemon Brook from California. His skin was tan and he donned bright blond hair. It seemed his niche was practical jokes. He always seemed to have some prank in mind. Thankfully, none too harmless. Blake did however set Nibbles, the class hamster, free on the third day of class. Edd had yet to find him.

The last offender was no other than Jake Barr. Jake had this thing about him. There was no certain speciality to his mischief. He would constantly get into trouble for anything. From assisting Robert and Blake to their schemes, to interrupting, disrupting, and back talking. This kid was a fire bolt. He certainly had spunk, Edd couldn't deny that.

When the afternoon bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day that Friday, Edd breathed a sigh of relief. He waited as his students trailed out of the room, waving goodbye as they left, before closing the door behind them.

Sitting down at his desk, Edd took the time to look over his lesson plans for the next week before packing his things and leaving for the weekend himself.

* * *

"So, how was school today?" Kevin asked as he watched the seven year old work on buckling his seatbelt.

"Boring, but school always is. I think Mr. Vincent was glad it's Friday." Jake answered, looking at his dad. Kevin was now driving out of the school parking lot.

"I bet. He had to deal with you for a whole week." Kevin laughed.

"Please. I think he dislikes Blake more than me. You shoulda been there when he set Nibbles free. Mr. Vincent bout blew his top!" Jake mused.

"I bet so. Your teacher sounds like a kid I used to know. He would freak out over the slightest things." Kevin said, flashing back to memories of his childhood in the cul-de-sac and the beanie clad Ed.

Breaking Kevin out of his thoughts, "Dad, can we play ball later?" Jake asked.

Kevin sighed deeply before answering, "I'm sorry Jake, but I promised Cassidy I'd take her out tonight. Nazz is gonna baby sit."

As much as he adored Nazz, a look of disappointment washed over Jake's face. "Later, then?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"Promise." Kevin smiled.

* * *

Edd stopped by his favorite coffee shop before making his way home. It became a surprise to him just how much this city felt like home.

Once entering the small shop, the barista already knew Edd's order. He smiled and paid for his drink, before leaving and getting back in his car. On his way home, thoughts consumed Edd's mind during the drive.

Lemon brook quickly became home to him. Living here on his own was a new and exciting time for him.

Growing up, his parents weren't around much, leaving Edd to raise himself. He was never truly lonely back then, not with Ed and Eddy at least.

After high school, that all became a different story.

* * *

"What do you mean you're leaving us behind, sockhead?" Eddy asked, raising his hands in the air.

"I never said I was leaving completely, Eddy. I'm just going to a different college than you." Edd corrected. "You know I'll visit you."

"You think you're too good for us, don't you? You have to go away to some other school to be Mr. Big shot. Whatever." Eddy complained.

"Of course not! Eddy, you're not listening! I am just simply trying to further my education." Edd reasoned, but Eddy wasn't buying it.

"Whatever, sockhead." Eddy said before he stormed off.

"I still love you, Double D!" Ed yelled, enveloping the smaller boy into a hug.

"Thank you, Ed... But could you please proceed to put me down?" Edd asked.

"Sure thing, Double D!"

* * *

Edd snapped out of his memory as he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex.

That argument with Eddy was just one of the few that led to their falling out.

Edd shuddered at the thought as he turned off the car. He grabbed his briefcase and coffee before stepping out of the black Volvo. A college graduation gift from his parents.

Still enveloped in his thoughts, Edd made his way into the building and up the stairs before reaching his own apartment.

It was as Edd entered the room when a new wave of memories hit him.

* * *

Once he had left for college, his parents had decided to finally sell the house in Peach Creek. With Edd away, there was no reason to keep it.

When summer time rolled around, Edd would stay with Rolf, who was also providing a home for Ed.

After high school, Ed had moved with Rolf to his new farm to help out. Rolf was more than happy to have "Double D Ed boy" as a guest. Edd was happy too, because for him, this meant his friendship with Ed was still in tact.

Upon graduating college, after inspecting available teaching jobs, Edd decided to start anew in Lemon Brook.

Having a fresh start was nice, and Edd enjoyed every minute of it.

Edd settled in for the afternoon and began cooking dinner for himself. He decided on a dish consisting of pasta and some grilled chicken, and later found himself curled on his couch with his dinner in hand, ready to start the weekend.

* * *

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long! My computer messed up and it's been a long two weeks. On the other hand, chapter 3 will be up soon! What's next? Some Kevin/Edd interaction and some big news from Kevin. Stay tuned! And as always, reviews are always welcomed! :)


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